Nanny for Hire, Heart for Sale
by allycakes
Summary: Eli is a widower with two kids and too much on his plate. Clare is a manager of a nanny service with very little business. Each have something the other wants, but do they also have something the other needs? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**I know I have a lot of stories going on, but this came to me and I _had _to write it. I may not continue with this for a little bit. I'm not sure, but I had to get this out.**

Elijah Goldsworthy is tired. Ben shrieks… again and Sarah complains about it… again. He sighs and grips the steering wheel tighter.

He loves his kids. Really, he does. He loves them with everything in his being and he would do absolutely anything for them, but since Julia's passing he doesn't know how to any more. It's been three years and he's still clueless on how to handle them. CeCe and Bullfrog help as much as they possibly can, but there's only so much they can do and only so much Eli will allow them.

"Daddy! Make Ben stop hitting me!" Sarah squeals. Eli gnaws the inside of his cheek and rolls to a slow stop in front of the school. The parent in front of him is taking their precious time saying goodbye to their little sweetie, but he waits patiently.

That's all father can do really…wait patiently. Wait patiently for his daughter's class mate to get out of the car. Wait patiently at the doctor's office at least once a month. Wait patiently for his book to be published before the money from the last one runs out. So, wait patiently he does.

"Ben, leave your sister alone." Eli breathes out and is met with a giggle that he can't help but smile at. Sarah was Julia's daughter through and through. Beautiful, dramatic…loud. But Ben… Ben was Eli's. He rolls his eyes playfully at the silly three year old and the sulky little girl in the back seat notices.

"You always take his side!" Sarah whines, causing Eli to close his eyes and resist the urge to cover his ears against her shrill scream. He licks his lips and looks into the rearview mirror at the tiny, dark-haired second-grader that is giving him a go to hell look and has her arms crossed tightly across her chest. That was the same look Julia gave him when she was angry and he can't help but give the girl a small smile.

"No, I don't Myrtle." He promises, using the nickname she earned as a toddler just learning to walk. She hobbled around like a little old lady and Eli immediately started calling her the first old woman name that came to mind.

"Don't call me that." She mutters, but she can see her fighting the smile from forming on her lips.

"Myrtle." He teases.

"Stop it!" She demands, but he ignores her.

"Myrtle, Myrtle, Myrtle."

"Daddy!" She cries, but her voice breaks with a giggle. Eli smirks at her in the mirror and she makes a face between laughs.

"Myrtle." He shoots again as the car in front of him finally gets out of the way. Sarah rolls her dark eyes and grabs her backpack and lunchbag from the seat. She hops up and gives Eli a peck on the cheek before climbing out of the car with a surprising amount of grace for a seven year-old that just hit a growth spurt not even a month ago.

"Love you, Dad."

"Love you, Myrtle." Eli smiles and Sarah cracks a final smile before slamming the door shut and waving a goodbye over her shoulder.

Eli pulls away and looks back at Ben.

"Daddy thinks it's time to look into getting a nanny. What do you think, Benjamin?" He asks, putting on a falsely deep voice and a serious face. Ben's eyebrows furrow in determination and his tiny fists clamp around his juice box.

"I think that's an excellent idea, Dad." He says, mocking Eli's deep voice. Eli smiles, but doesn't let Ben see; it's a serious conversation after all.

"I think you're right son."

* * *

"Ali." Clare says, shaking her friend who is currently dead to the world. The dark-skinned girl groans and smacks at the air in front of her, but Clare, used to her antics, expects the move and dodges just in time. Ali grunts again when she misses and rolls over, her long, silky, black hair cascades over the pillow behind her and Clare picks up a sizeable chunk, and suddenly the room is filled with the sharp sound of metal on metal.

"Clare…" Ali says, threateningly, her eyes opening slowly. "You better have not done what I think you just did." She sits up and narrows her eyes and her near-life long friend. "Because I love you, but I will kill you."

"Guys like short hair. It looks good on you." Clare shrugs and saunters out of the room, placing the scissors in her hand on the bright pink dresser next to the door. Ali's heart races as she runs her fingers through her hair, checking for missing pieces, when she finds it all to be in place she breathes a sigh of relief and allows her tense shoulders to sag.

"I hate you." Ali says as she walks into the living room and falls down on the couch, pulling the small throw cover from the back of the couch on top of herself and closing her eyes again. Clare chuckles into her bowl of frosted flakes and continues reading the paper, ignoring her friend. She finishes and walks calmly to the sink, running water over her bowl and spoon before placing them gently in the sink.

"It's eight forty five." She says as she slips on her coat and grabs her keys and phone from the counter. She smiles to herself when she hears the chorus that follows the clicking of the door.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit." Ali grumbles and Clare can imagine her friend scrambling back and forward as she does every morning. Ali wasn't a morning person to say the least.

The day is nice and Clare works only a few blocks over so she opts to walk to work, enjoying the crisp autumn air and the crunch of leaves beneath her sensible boots. She hums a song to herself that her mother used to sing as she makes her way.

She is surprised when she gets there to find a man already standing outside. He offers her what she can only describe as a smirk and she can feel her heart thrumming inside her chest. He's in his early to mid thirties from what she can tell and handsome in a way she doesn't usually find attractive; his deep green eyes study her so intensely it almost makes her uncomfortable.

"Ca-Can I help you? " She stammers and bites down on her lip absent-mindedly. He smirks again.

"I'm looking for a nanny. I assumed that was the service Nannies Galore offered." He raises his eyebrow at her, issuing a challenge. He's a smartass. She likes that.

"Oh, no, I think you're looking for someone else. We solely offer computer services. Sorry the name threw you off. I'll let the management know." She jokes as she puts the key in the door and ushers him inside.

"According to your name tag, Clare, you are the management." He points out as she shrugs off her jacket. She can feel her cheeks tinge pink and she gives him a small smile.

"Well, consider your complaint noted."

He smirks again and she looks away, flustered though she would never admit it.

"I never said I was complaining." He grins and Clare feels the heat rush to her cheeks again.

"Right. So.." she says, leading him into her tiny closet space that barely passes for an office and motions for him to take a seat as she takes her own. "Tell me a little bit about your situation and we'll find the perfect fit." She promises, focusing on the computer in front of her as it purrs to life so she doesn't have to meet his gaze.

"How about you?" He questions with the same smug smirk on his face as if daring her to say no.

"M-Me?"

**What did you think? :D I think I like it. Review? (:**

**Also, I made a Degrassi Twitter account if you would like to follow me. :)**

** DegrassiPenguin**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey. (: This is probably pretty boring since it's just a set-up chapter, but there's some EClare flirtzies in there and some Eli talking about his kids which is, if I have to say so myself, freaking adorable. (: Hope you enjoy.**

"M-Me?" Clare trips and stumbles over her words as the man sits in front of her with the same smug and daring smirk plastered on his handsome face.

"How about it, Clare?" He drawls and raises an eyebrow.

She narrows her eyes slightly and lets a breath out through her nose. She hates to turn down a challenge and he is issuing one with every second that passes between them.

"What did you say your name was again?" she questions and purses her lips slightly to the side, partially in annoyance and partially in defiance of his stupidly sexy smirk.

"I didn't." His smirk grows into a genuine grin and she can tell he is enjoying his teasing far too much for her liking.

"Well, if you want someone to be your nanny then I'm going to need your name." She sighs.

"Oh, no. I think you misunderstood our exchange. I don't need a nanny. My kids do." The smirk returns and Clare feels her fingers itching to reach out and grab her stress ball, but for some reason she finds a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"As sure as I am that you're a very special case, Mr..." she trails off, giving the man no choice but to extend a name.

"Elijah Goldsworthy."

"Mr. Goldsworthy," she continues. "We only deal with younger children than yourself." She felt bold letting the words tumble from her lips and half expects him to get angry, but he smiles widely instead and leans back into his chair.

"Ouch." He breathes and feigns hurt by placing a hand over his heart.

Clare rolls her eyes and tried to force them onto the computer screen to begin typing, but each movement Elijah Goldsworthy made only distracted her further. She shakes her head. She was always the level headed of her friends and didn't let men get under her skin like they did with Alli, but there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on.

_Stop it Clare, you don't even know this man._ _Plus, he's definitely married. _She thinks to herself and in a very Alli-esque move she skims his hands for any sign of a ring and when she doesn't find one she feels a warmth bubble in her stomach she hadn't felt in a long time.

_Pay attention, Clare. _She scolds herself and shakes her head again, forcing her brain to focus.

"What are they're names?"

"Sarah and Ben," he supplies and Clare smiles to herself at the simple, classic names. Most of the children that came through the company were named something ridiculous or downright outrageous. It almost made her sad that nice, uncomplicated names were becoming the minority, but for all she knew Lilakoi could be a common name in the next twenty five years. She doubted it, but it could happen.

"Ages?"

"Seven and three."

"Bit of an age gap," Clare mumbles and chews on her bottom lip nervously. Children with larger age gaps tended to be more of a handful than those a year or so apart. Mostly children closer in age were interested in the same things and were, in general, easier to please with the same things, but with a gap of three or more years there was almost always jealously on one end or the other and that tended to make things a tad more difficult.

"A bit. Is that a problem?" Eli asks and shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

"No, no not at all." Clare answers, looking up with a smile.

Relief fills Eli's features and Clare smiles a little wider. He must be desperate for a nanny, but then again most of the frazzled parents who walked in were.

"Tell me a little more about them."

Eli smiles, but his eyes are far away and Clare takes the chance to admire him and the love that is practically radiating off him in waves.

_He really loves his kids._ This time she can't stop the smile from forming on her lips.

"Sarah is her mother reincarnate," He jokes with a small laugh. "She can be a real brat, but when she has her sweet moments, she's a literal angel. She's having a little trouble in school these days. Her teachers say she's too high-strung.. too emotional. I tried to tell them that emotion is what makes life worth living, especially when you're seven, but they don't seem to agree. I just feel like they try to cap her off too much, you know. She's special, that kid. She's seven years old and already knows more about life than I do. Wise beyond her years."

"Now Ben, Ben is a goof. He does things just to annoy his sister, but its hard to get on to him when he gives me that 'cat who ate the canary' grin. Plus, I figure that's what little brothers are for. He's sweet too though. He takes care of Sarah even though he's younger. Hell, he takes care of me. He's a nurturer. He brings frogs from the back yard inside all the time even though he knows he's not supposed to. I swear if he were old enough to drive around and find strays my house would be an animal rescue by now. They're great kids. I know everyone must say that, but its true. They're really, really great kids."

Clare smiles softly and looks down at her hands, tapping gently on the desk.

"I'll do it," She says quietly, suddenly realizing she hadn't taken down any of the notes about Eli's children, but she isn't worried she'll forget.

"Do what?"

"Be your nanny."

"Clare, I thought we established that I don't need a nanny," He says, the teasing tone back in his voice.

"I'm not so sure about that," Clare smiles and slides some papers across the desk for him to sign.

Clare bites down on her lip as he scrawls his name across the bottom of the paper.

What was she getting herself into?

**What'd you think, eh, eh? Review? Promise the next chapter will be more interesting. (:**


End file.
